Cribs, playpens, play dens and the like, referred to herein collectively as “infant enclosures” or as “enclosures” are well known, and allow a baby, toddler, infant or small child (referred to herein collectively as “infant”) to be confined comfortably to a limited area, without danger of the infant leaving the area on his own. Such enclosures are typically adapted for enabling the infant to play and/or sleep and/or be transported therein.
Conventionally, such enclosures comprise four vertical panels joined together to form a rectangular assembly, and further comprise a bottom panel, mat or mattress, according to the specific use of the enclosure. The panels are typically preformed and may be assembled to form the crib, playpen or play den by trained personnel or by the home owner. In cribs, two opposite panels are typically solid in appearance, comprising the ends of the cribs, and the remaining two panels—comprising the sides of the crib—comprise a plurality of spaced bars or a net. Playpens or play dens typically comprise four similar panels, forming a square or rectangle plan form, the panels comprising netting or a plurality of spaced vertical bars.
Some known infant enclosures provide advantages in flexibility of use and/or assembly thereof.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,491,992 discloses an adjustable-sized crib that may be assembled and disassembled, and comprises a rather large number of different sized plastic tube sections and different types of tube end fittings that are connected together in a particular manner to form a four-walled barred crib-playpen. The crib-playpen has no vertical corner members, but comprises a strut subassembly support, also assembled from particular tube sections and tube end fittings, for a crib bottom board.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,900,907 discloses a plastic baby crib made from a variety of plastic elements. Two crib ends each comprise a pair of uprights horizontally spaced by a pair of cross-members and a solid panel therebetween. Two crib sides are each made from a pair of vertically spaced horizontal cross members joined by a plurality of horizontally spaced vertical bars that fit in facing holes provided in the cross members. The uprights and the cross members a uniform lateral cross-section and consist of a hollow substantially rectangular extrusion having at least one internal partition web.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,098,217 discloses a modular playpen which may be reconfigured in a variety of shapes and which may be assembled and disassembled manually. The playpen consists of five basic parts including: a plurality of rectangular side panels comprising a plastic frame supporting nylon mesh; a plurality of vertical uprights, one pair thereof slidably affixed to each end of a side panel via a longitudinal groove extending to a large portion of the length of each upright to form an enclosure; a series of horizontal support bars removably engaged to the lower portion of each upright; floor pads positioned within the enclosure and over the support bars; a central post to provide additional support for the floor pads.